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Trump Arrested, Booked And Released At Fulton County Jail In Georgia Election Case; Putin Says Prigozhin Made Serious Mistakes In First Remarks; Pentagon Plans To Begin Training Ukrainian Pilots On F- 16s In U.S.; Ukraine Marks Independence Day Amid War Situation; Trump Free on Bond after Felony Arrest in Georgia; Fulton County Jail; Nation's React to Invitation to Join the BRICS Group; Wildfires in Greece; China Bans Seafood Imports from Japan; Blackswan has no Korean Members. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 25, 2023 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:29]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Coming up this hour. Florida man Donald Trump free on $200,000 bail as attorney himself in on racketeering charges.

Today, after Vladimir Putin is widely suspected to have ordered Yevgeny Prigozhin's death, the Russian president publicly mourns his death describing him as a talented businessman.

And for the first time since the war began, Ukrainian special forces staged a lightning raid in Russian occupied Crimea.

Twice impeach disgraced former U.S. President Donald Trump has now racked up his fourth arrest in less than five months. This time though, it was different. Trump surrendered to authorities at the Fulton County Prison in Georgia, where he was booked, fingerprinted and photographed. His hair listed as blonde or strawberry. Height six feet three inches, weighed 215 pounds. Inmate number P01135809.

It's the first mugshot ever our former U.S. president. Sources say Trump wanted to appear to defiant so he chose not to smile. He's charged with more than a dozen felony counts stemming from his efforts to overturn the Georgia State vote count in the 2020 presidential election. He is now free on $200,000 bail, covered with a 10 percent payment to an Atlanta bonding company according to sources.

The entire process took about 20 minutes. Then the former president headed back to the airport just outside Atlanta for a flight back to New Jersey. Before, he railed against the charges though in Georgia as well as federal charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election, as well as charges that he mishandled classified documents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: What is taking place here is a travesty of justice. We did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong. And everybody knows that I've never had such support. And that goes with the other ones too. What they're doing is election interference and trying to interfere with an election is never been anything like it in our country before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Trump posted his mug shot on X formerly known as Twitter. And he did a fundraising appeal with that as well. It's the first post on the platform formerly known as Twitter since his final days in the White House.

Trump has yet to enter a plea in the Georgia case and the district attorney has asked for all defendants there to be arraigned early next month. More details now from CNN senior legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Now that former President Trump has completed his surrender here at the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, the next time he'll have to return here to Georgia is for his arraignment.

The District Attorney Fani Willis just said she would like to do the arrangements for all 19 defendants the week of September 5th. Now in his federal cases, this all happened at once. He was processed and then he went before a judge to enter his plea. But here in Georgia, things happen at a slightly different pace.

Now after that initial week or two of arraignments, the defendants actually have a short window of time to file certain challenges to their case, several defendants including Mark Meadows and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, they have already challenged their cases trying to get these state level cases moved to federal court, and the former president has signaled that he will likely try to do the same, Rudy Giuliani may also try that move.

So that process will take quite some time to play out. The next thing that's going to happen though is on Monday there will be a hearing for Mark Meadows effort to move this to federal court. We expect that the focus of that hearings is going to be that infamous call between former President Trump and former Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The District Attorney Fani Willis has dismissed any suggestion by Meadows that what he was doing was just part of his job as Chief of Staff, and that this should be not prosecuted.

Now, it'll be interesting to see what the judge does here. But if Meadows does not succeed, he will be back with the other defendants here in Fulton County, as this case proceeds. But for a RICO case of this size and complexity could take years for a final resolution. Paula Reid, Fulton County, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining me now is Jessica Levinson, Professor of Law at Loyola Law School and host of the podcast Passing Judgment. It's good to see you.

[01:05:02]

JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA LAW SCHOO: Good to be here.

VAUSE: Yes, every couple of weeks we've seen we get together, we talk about the latest Trump indictment. This one, though, it's different. It's kind of unique. And now that Trump has turned himself into authorities. He was booked at the Fulton County Jail, which included taking his mug shot. He was also fingerprinted.

So what happens next here, we have arraignment? Well, that's about two weeks from now. So just walk through the logistics of, you know, the actual sale of the trial when that will happen. Discovery jury selection, because there's a long process to go here.

LEVINSON: There's a long process to go. And as you noted, this case is different. And it's different, not just because of the mugshot, but if this case actually does go to trial, you and I are going to see it like everybody else live. This is the one case out of the four cases that could be televised.

And in fact, all of the proceedings that you asked me out -- about could be televised as well. So there's going to be an arraignment in about two weeks. We are somewhat oddly familiar with these arrangements. Now, the charges will be read. We expect the former president will plead not guilty to all the charges. There could be some scheduling matters that are decided.

And then as you noted, there's going to be a lot of fighting about things like evidence, what type of evidence will the jury hear. We know there's a big difference between evidence that a grand jury and a special grand jury in Fulton County heard and evidence that could be admissible at trial.

And we also know that a lot of this fighting will not just be about what evidence will the jury hear, but it will be Donald Trump trying to delay, delay, delay.

District Attorney Fani Willis has said I'll be ready in October. Now that's not going to happen. But it shows you she is trying to move ahead. Of course, you asked me about next steps. The next step is where will this case be in the line of the other cases. We have to imagine that she will likely gave way to the federal prosecutors and that that case could be the one that goes first.

VAUSE: Well, as of March this year, Forbes put Trump's net worth at $2.5 billion. And yet he used a bail bonds company to post the 200,000k bail, which means Trump is what on the hook for 10 percent, which is about what $20,000.

And here's a list of bail conditions no violating state or federal laws, must appear in court, no threats against co-defendant, no threats against witnesses, no threats against victims, no threats against community or community property. This includes social media posts, and repost, which is interesting, new communication about facts of case with co-defendants except through counsel.

It is a safe bet that Donald Trump will violate at least one of those conditions at some point if he has not already done so. What happens then?

LEVINSON: My guess is not the nuclear option. And the nuclear option, of course, is that you could revoke bail and you could put somebody back in custody or you could place somebody in custody, excuse me.

When it comes to -- it's interesting for all of the four cases, there are similar types of conditions meaning don't do this, don't either talk to co-defendants or don't intimidate co-defendants and witnesses. And in all cases, what I think we're going to see is potentially if there is a violation, which I agree with you there's a good chance there will be, the court saying you have violated those conditions, we will sanction you.

The thing to watch for which I do not think is likely is whether or not the former president would be imprisoned because that is one thing that can happen to people when they violate bail conditions or when they violate any sort of court orders.

I think what we're going to see is a battle not just between the former president and the prosecutors and all of these cases, but between the former president and his attorneys who are desperately trying to keep him quiet throughout this process.

VAUSE: You know, this whole event was staged in a way like defend the Trump was making some kind of presidential visit to Atlanta, a touchdown at Hartsfield airport, he walked onto the tarmac, where more than a dozen cars from the motorcade taking him to and from the courthouse routes were cleared. There were motorbikes, there were police cars, the whole shebang had all the trappings of a presidential visit.

Yet, this is all been paid for by small donations from Donald Trump's supporters thinking they're actually paying for his legal defense fund. And the legal website JustSecurity makes this point. Special Counsel Jack Smith has not charged any actions related to fundraising using the big lie or the big report. But that is not because these avenues are legally foreclosed. Indeed, the Department of Justice frequently charges similar campaign finance cases with wire fraud.

So firstly, just talk to the optics here of what, you know, these sort of moments are there to give me intensive $22 in the Trump campaign. And also, could there be more charges brought against Trump alongside the 91 criminal charges he's already facing?

LEVINSON: Well, yes, I think it is possible that there could be additional charges. I think you're right to point out a potential violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act and other potential that regulation dealing with the idea that the former president was essentially arguably fundraising under false pretenses.

[01:10:08] Now, the optics of this, I mean, at a certain point, I think people understand that they are giving money to the former president. I'm not sure they care exactly where that is going. We know. And I think you're correct to point this out. He has been a prodigious fundraiser, and there is a joint fundraising committee, essentially a pack that he has used to pay most of his legal fees. So you noted that he is worth billions of dollars.

I don't think he has spent money on his legal defense. What he has done is used basically largely the small donor donations, and that is being used to pay for his attorneys. That's one thing that there I assume will be some increasing tension with RNC and the former president about where that money should go and if it should continue to go to his legal feeds, because we know that that is taking an enormous amount of the fundraising away from trying to blackmail the former president or other candidates. And so all this boils down to yes, there could be more charges.

VAUSE: Jessica, as always great to see it. I'm sure we'll be speaking again sometime soon.

LEVINSON: Thank you.

VAUSE: Thank you. Day after the apparent death of you getting engrossed in a plane crash, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the Wagner boss, a talented man, who made some serious mistakes.

This first public comments about the crash comes two months after Prigozhin at his mercy group staged a brief insurrection against Russia's military leaders. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more now reporting in from Berlin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Frederik Pleitgen, CNN SENIOR INTERATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): After that plane crash north of Moscow, which presumably killed Yevgeny Prigozhin and possibly also, some of his top deputies as well. The Russians are saying that an investigation is in full swing.

Now, the authorities there in Russia say that they are looking at an array of possibilities, so possible mechanical failures with the plane but then of course, also whether or not the plane might have been tampered with one way or another.

Now, for the first time, we are hearing from Russian President Vladimir Putin about all this and he expressed his condolences not specifically to the family of Yevgeny Prigozhin, but to the families of all of those who were on board.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): First of all, I want to express my sincere condolences to the families of all the victims. This is always a tragedy. Preliminary information suggests that Wagner Group employees were also on board.

PLEITGEN: Now of course the investigation in Russia is still in its early stages. And at this point in time, it's impossible to say what may have brought the plane down whether or not it might have been fired out or whether or not there might have been an explosion on board.

Certainly the U.S. says it has no indication that a surface to air missile was fired at the plane at that same time, of course, we do know that there were some serious issues between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin especially after that failed mutiny two months ago.

Now, Vladimir Putin in his message also spoke about give Yevgeny Prigozhin to himself. And here's what he had to say.

PUTIN (through translator): I knew Prigozhin for a very long time since the early 90s. He was a man of difficult feet. And he made serious mistakes in life. And he achieved the results needed both for himself and when I asked him about it for common cause asking this last month.

PLEITGEN: Putin also pointing at the investigation that is going on saying he believes that it will find results. There were some in Russia who had been speculating whether or not the Ukrainians may have been behind downing the plane, however, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy he came out earlier and he said that Ukraine had absolutely nothing to do with the incident. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Prigozhin mercenary group is currently operating in more than 30 countries including more than a dozen in Africa, where some operations have been highly profitable for Wagner, as well as the Kremlin, while others have led to allegations of atrocities. CNN's Larry Madowo has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): It's here in an undisclosed location in Africa that the Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin recorded what's believed to be his last undated video message, a recruitment promo for his private and mercenary company and its operation in several African countries.

YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN, WAGNER GROUP BOSS (though translator): Wagner PMC is conducting reconnaissance and search operations, making Russia even greater on all continents and Africa, even freer, justice and happiness for the African peoples. Let's make it a nightmare for ISIS, Al Qaeda and other thugs.

MADOWO: It was also the first clear video of Prigozhin since his march in Moscow in June, once known as Putin's Chef, Prigozhin largely disappeared after his failed mutiny Yeah to see clearly and quickly Russia sought to assure its allies especially across Africa that Wagner presence in their countries won't be affected.

[01:15:09] In the two months between these mutiny and presumed death in a plane crash, Prigozhin pleading messages were mostly focused on Africa. A photo on the sidelines of a Russia Africa summit with a visiting African official, an audio recording on a Pan-African channel. And many audio messages on his telegram channels.

Wagner has been expanding in West Africa for years. CNN filmed the mercenaries trading security forces in the Central African Republic. They are also active or have been linked to Libya, Mali, Mozambique, and Sudan.

Huge countries with vast natural resources, some of which Wagner are exploiting. Over the past two years, investigations by CNN and human rights groups have established Wagner's involvement and complicity with atrocities against civilian populations. And the French they the group is also behind a smear campaign against them.

In Niger, supporters of a July military coup were burning French flags and waving Russian flags across the country. Prigozhin was quick to offer his services.

OLUWOLE OJEWALE, CENTRAL AFRICA REGIONAL COORDINATOR, THE INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDY: Now that the group itself has become disoriented. They as going to be a lot of fallout, a lot of consequences in terms of security relapsing, and generally there is going to be a resurgence of in the culpability of some of these terrorist groups striking those countries.

MADOWO: Prigozhin proved valuable beyond bloodied battles in Ukraine. He helps secure lucrative deals and expand Russia's influence abroad, especially here in Africa are many of sympathetic to Moscow, because it doesn't have the colonial baggage of the West.

Putin could have advanced the betrayal of an old ally and his top lieutenants. But it will take more than a flurry of diplomatic visits to assure allies reliant on the notorious mercenary group and worried about a vacuum and disorientation in its command. Larry Madowo, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining me now is U.S. Army General Mark Hertling. He's a CNN national security and military analyst and former commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe. It's good to see you, sir.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLIN, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to see you, John.

VAUSE: OK, so foreign policy posted a report on this post-Prigozhin world. They quoted a senior Eastern European official as saying this, Putin got his power projection on the cheap and with some veneer of deniability in Mali, and the Central African Republic through Wagner. It's not in his interest to give that up.

So, you know, Wagner was recently offering up its services to the new military dictators, for example, in Niger, and you know, given Russia's global isolation right now through economic sanctions and the influence it has in Africa, and beyond, that seems more crucial than ever before.

So, do these vulgar mercenary, you know, they continue operating as they are in a sort of semi-autonomous groups? Do they need another Prigozhin type leader at the top? Will they be replaced by some other kind of mercenary group?

HERTLING: Those are all great questions, John. And what's been fascinating to me to watch this whole dynamic is it is certainly Putin asserting power and sending signals to others who might cross him. But again, you know, from a military perspective, who takes Prigozhin place. Indicators are that he had both is ops guy, Utkin and Chekov who is his sustainment guy, I'm sorry, the other way around, Chekov is his sustainment guy. So he takes care of the rear areas. We're on the plane with them. They normally travel in three, much like a U.S. division has a commander in two deputies.

So you don't have a chain of command or someone taking over. So it's got to be someone else. But that's the hierarchy about Wagner. What I'd be interesting to watch in the next couple of weeks is how are the soldiers of Wagner going to take this. Because they were extremely well paid. They were loyal to Prigozhin. Are they going to rebel when they're told they just got to join the Russian military? Or is someone else going to take over that group and kind of bring the charisma of Prigozhin and re-form that organization? So it's more beholden to Putin and not doing the crazy things that Prigozhin was doing it the end of this is his life.

VAUSE: And the other point here too that's interesting is that Wagner isn't the only mercenary game in town. There are a lot of other sort of low profile groups operating out of Russia. Here's the shortlist. Redut, who's soldiers were among the first to enter Ukraine when the war began in February last year, another is Potok. It's one of multiple private sector entities that exist under Gazpromneft, which is a subsidiary of the state owned energy giant Gazprom. There are smaller murkier groups like the dawn brigade, there's the Union of Cossack Warriors of Russia and Abroad, others the Moran Security Group, Slavonic Corps, and the E.N.O.T. Corps, all these groups you know exist sort of in the shadows in many ways.

[01:20:07]

What is the likelihood at least one or more of those groups would be willing to step up, try and replicate the success of Prigozhin as well as Wagner?

HERTLING: Right, again, getting back to the point, Putin was trying to get Prigozhin under control. And he sent a signal to the leaders of all these other groups, who by the way, you know, when I was still in the service, we used to call those different groups, the Star Wars bar scene of the private military companies of Russia, each one of the leaders of the group, the groups are all smaller than Wagner was, but each one of the leaders are also less, let's just say less charismatic, and they are all over the 11 time zones which Russia consists of.

So, it will be interesting to see, will Shoigu as the Minister of Defense, be able to get these guys under control, much like you lost control of Prigozhin.

VAUSE: The (INAUDIBLE) Wagner group Prigozhin so hasn't really been exploited militarily by the Ukrainians. But in terms of conventional firepower, there is significant news on that front, from the Pentagon and Ukraine's request for F-16. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. PATRICK RYDER, PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON: The Department of Defense is announcing today that the United States will soon begin training Ukrainians to fly and maintain F-16 fighter aircraft in support of the international effort to develop and strengthen Ukraine's long term defenses. Following English language training for pilots in September, F-16 flying training is expected to begin in October.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This comes as NATO countries, you know, confirmed that they will be transferring F-16 to Ukraine as well, that's being approved by the United States. What's the timeline here though? How soon could Ukrainians be flying F-16 into combat?

HERTLING: Well, as we've talked about before, John, it's not so much the flying, that will take a few months to transition pilots, if they have already trained on some type of aircraft and they have their pilot's license, it normally takes a new, a brand new U.S. lieutenant who is about to be a pilot, about six to nine months to really get a feel for the airplane.

But what you're talking about is a condensed training plan for the Ukrainians. But that's not the main issue. It is the how do you get the sustainment, the maintenance, the air ground coordination, the air to air dogfighting, how to engage with Russian pilots, if they're going to go air to air, all of those things are much more difficult.

It's one thing to teach a pilot how to fly. It's going to take much longer time to get them to -- to really capture all the things you need to do as a pilot. I don't think we're going to see active F-16 pilots, Ukrainian pilots flying these weapon systems before the end of the year at the earliest.

VAUSE: That's only a few months away, though this point will be about four months away, but there still seems to be a timeframe. Still a lot to be done. And as you say a lot of moving pieces and all of this.

HERTLING: Right.

VAUSE: It's never simple. There's always a lot going on. So that's why we have you with us to explain all this. Thank you. So good to see you, General Hertling.

HERTLING: Thank you, John. Good to see you.

VAUSE: When we come back, Ukraine marks its independence day with a big ceremony in Kyiv. And a big previous raid reported in Russian positions in Crimea. We'll tell you why that's significant in a moment.

And then later this hour, Donald Trump is out on bail after a teachable moment at the Fulton County Jail, where he says he learned all about mugshots for the first time.

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[01:25:42]

VAUSE: The Eiffel Tower Paris lit up in Ukrainian blue and yellow, supporting 32 years since Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union. But it's the current fight for survival against an unprovoked Russian invasion, which was the focus of a ceremony in Kyiv on Thursday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the troops and the nation for the war effort. He promised liberation for all Ukrainian territory currently under Russian occupation. And he told all Ukrainians they will win the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We keep memories of what Ukrainian people went through. We can see the threats. We are fighting against the enemy, and we keep in mind that we know how to win and we will win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The Kremlin claims while in 40 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russian occupied Crimea Friday morning. This comes a day after Kyiv claimed to have launched a lightning amphibious raid on the western side of the Crimean Peninsula. Ukrainian special forces reportedly made a landing and targeted Russian infrastructure on Thursday.

Ukrainian Defense Intelligence release video, saying it shows troops firing at Russian aircraft from a boat. Nick Paton Walsh explains the rates and the message both to Moscow and to Ukraine's allies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): When Ukraine Defense Intelligence and suggestions that they launched a significant amphibious assault against Crimea is deeply important because of the symbolism that Crimea holds. I think it's fair to say in the eyes of many Western officials, in the minds of Russian President Vladimir Putin, this is a very important part of their occupation of Ukraine, because it was the first area they took in 2014, almost without a shot being fired, annex through troops infiltrating

What Ukraine is suggesting is that a series of amphibious assaults hit the Crimean coastline and may have killed up to 30 Russian troops, essentially attacking their infrastructure, and more importantly, impacting their psychology showing that even Crimea, which I think most Russians consider to be far enough away from the actual front lines of fighting is now vulnerable to Ukrainian special forces are so. That's an important message for Ukraine to send because it has been criticized in Western media reports for focusing too much on Crimea.

Ukraine's response, I think, would have been that so much of Russian military infrastructure is in that peninsula, and that helps Russia defend its positions in the front parts of the areas of Ukraine southern counter offensive, but this statement from Ukraine, essentially coming on Ukraine's independence day, a bid to project force depth of how far they can hit Russian targets that may have thought they were secure otherwise, and also to feeding in to the broader discussion about how Yevgeny Prigozhin version appears to have died in mysterious if not deeply suspicious circumstances.

Remember, the death of Prigozhin is not by itself, isolated from the war in Ukraine. It's another reminder for Ukrainians that Prigozhin, let alone (ph) rebellion against Putin fought heavily in Ukraine for Russia in some of the more brutal front lines, but also to that Putin, if indeed he is somehow involved in this death still feels a threat internally because of how Prigozhin negatively characterized how this war had been prosecuted.

A lot moving here on Ukraine's Independence Day, but battlefield changes certainly what Kyiv want to project as the world asks exactly what happens to Yevgeny Prigozhin. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The Wall Street Journal says it's deeply disappointed that a Moscow court extended the pretrial detention of its reporter by three months. Evan Gershkovich was detained back in March while he awaits trial on espionage charges, charges which he denies.

In a statement the newspaper said we are deeply disappointed he continues to be arbitrarily and wrongfully detained for doing his job as a journalist. Evan has now been wrongfully detained for five months, horrific and sobering milestone in our efforts to free him.

Still ahead, Donald Trump goes to jail. The former U.S. president arrested fingerprint -- fingerprinted and photographed in Fulton County, Georgia. Check out the mugshot when we come back.

[01:29:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Donald Trump now back in New Jersey at this hour, free on $200,000 bond after his arrest in the Georgia election subversion case. The former, disgraced U.S. President was fingerprinted and photographed in a 20-minute booking process at the Fulton County jail.

Sources tell CNN Trump wanted to appear defiant in his mug shot, no smiling. It's the fourth time this year that Trump has turned himself in to face felony charges.

Michael Zeldin is a former U.S. Federal prosecutor, host of "That Said With Michael Zeldin" podcast. And he joins us now from Washington.

Michael, it is good to see you. Thank you for being with us.

MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER U.S. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Hello John. How are you?

VAUSE: Good, thank you.

Now, I want you to listen to inmate number P01135809 talking about being booked, fingerprinted, and getting that mug shot. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Terrible experience. I came in, I was treated very nicely, but it is what it is. I took a mug shot, which I never heard the word mug shot before. They didn't teach me that at the Wharton School of Finance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well he's heard of it now. It seems almost like a sideshow here, but why is it that this mug shot -- you know, it does seem to be so significant in the overall scheme of things. They fought hard not have it taken, they fought hard not have it released. But why? What's the significance here?

ZELDIN: Well, it's just really the atmospherics. You are the former president of the United States of America, and there you are, like a common criminal photographed in Fulton County, Georgia, accused of racketeering and influence corrupt organization, conspiracy to overturn a duly constituted election.

That's really not what you want on your resume. And I'm sure in the Wharton School of Finance, they didn't teach you activities that would land you in that spot.

VAUSE: Good point. Here's a little more from the disgraced former president before getting on his 757 and leaving Atlanta. Listen to this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You should be able to challenge an election. I thought the election was a rigged election, a stolen election. And I should have every right to do that.

As you know, you have many people that you've been watching over the years do the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:34:51] VAUSE: That statement, in and of itself, absolutely true. Only that's just not what happened here, right? So how is that argument going to hold up against the charges which are being brought by the Fulton County D.A.?

ZELDIN: I don't think they'll hold up very well. You see, the problem here is that Donald Trump did in fact lawfully challenged the election. He filed lawsuits, his lawyers filed lawsuits in 21 different cases. He lost all of them.

And when his legal avenues of challenge ran out, the allegation is that's when he embarked on this conspiracy to overturn the election through illegal means. And so, I think the prosecutors will say, you had your chance to do it legally. You lost. You then chose to do it illegally rather than abide by the rule of law.

And I think that will be a compelling argument.

VAUSE: Yes, and those 60 cases that were thrown out, many of them thrown out of court by Trump-appointed judges as well, which is significant, I guess, in the scheme of things.

The other legal defense it seems being used by Trump and his supporters is this one. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREEN (R-GA): These are fake charges. Why? He's being arrested because he used his freedom of speech? He's not allowed to say what he thinks and feels about his 2020 election?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not allowed to break the law.

GREENE: He didn't break the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That was Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia. She's a Republican, a Trump supporter, a follower of QAnon. She believes in Jewish space lasers. She protested outside the jail on Thursday.

So all of that to one side though, this freedom of speech argument, is that also a nonstarter here.

ZELDIN: Yes, it's a red herring. The truth is of course, you have freedom of speech in the United States. But it's not absolute. So, you can't yell "fire" in a crowded movie theater and not be prosecuted for that. You can't threaten people with death and not be prosecuted for it. And similarly, you cannot engage in fraud.

So if you engage in speech with this fraud, or a crime, "give me the money, put it in the bag" is speech, but it's also bank robbery.

So here, they're charging him with speaking fraudulently to overturn an election. And so, you may have a juror who believes that he has a First Amendment right like Marjorie Taylor Greene does, but that's not what the law that they'll be instructed on.

So I think that in the end, the notion that this was speech or just aspirational speech won't hold up -- shouldn't hold up.

VAUSE: I guess we'll find out how this plays out. We have a lot to go with this case. It's all just beginning.

Michael, I'm sure we'll speak again. Thank you so much for being with us.

ZELDIN: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: Always a pleasure, sir.

Donald Trump was booked at the Fulton County jail here in Atlanta, a place notorious for the deplorable conditions, including inmate deaths, excessive force, and an overcrowded prison population. The building has also been deemed structurally unsafe.

Full details now from CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The facility where Donald Trump and his co-defendants were summoned to surrender is nothing short of a hulking, sprawling nightmare -- the Fulton County jail.

It is also known as Rice Street because of its address. The facility opened in 1989 and almost from the moment it opened, it became obsolete and overcrowded.

Just last month, the Justice Department announced an investigation into this facility because of allegations of quote, "unsafe, unsanitary living conditions, excessive force, and violence."

As for the overcrowding, the capacity of this facility is 2,688 inmates. As of April, according to the state of Georgia, it has 3,221 inmates.

According to various news reports, seven inmates died at the facility just this year, about 15 inmates died last year.

And there was a notorious case of an inmate who passed away in his cell last September, 35-year-old LeSean Thompson.

The medical examiner and LeSean Thompson's family's attorney say that he died of neglect, malnourishment, and other poor treatment. He was in the mental ward at that hospital.

Most noteworthy about his case was that his body was found covered in lice, dead bugs, and other insects. Just horrible images released there.

LeSean Thompson's family's attorneys also released a photo of the conditions inside his cell that just showed absolutely deplorable conditions. All over this jail, there is grime, there is dirt, there are

overflowing toilets.

One -- another really horrible anecdote regarding this jail is that last year, during a public meeting, law enforcement officers rolled into the meeting a wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow was full of shanks that were made by the inmates by grabbing just chunks of crumbling walls in the facility and fashioning them into shanks to attack other inmates. That's how bad this facility got.

The sheriff of Fulton County Patrick Labat is completely admitting these conditions are horrible. He says he's welcoming the Justice Department's investigations. And Sheriff Labat is requesting about $2 billion in county funds to build a new jail.

Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:39:53]

VAUSE: The so-called BRICS group -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa -- has invited six countries to join their economic bloc.

Egypt is among them and the president says the country is looking forward to joining BRICS to strengthen economic cooperation as well as, quote, "raise the voice of the global south."

Egypt, along with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Ethiopia and Argentina were invited to join the BRICS group as it wrapped up a summit in Johannesburg on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EBRAHIM RAISI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT: The decision made by BRICS members to expand this group is a commendable move that paves the way for global expansion within the framework of justice.

PRINCE FAISAL BIN FARHAN AL SAUD, SAUDI ARABIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The strategic relationship between the Kingdom and the countries of the BRICS group is reinforced by frameworks of common principles, the most prominent of which is the firm belief in the principle of respecting the sovereignty and independence of states, not in interfering in their affairs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: More now from CNN's David McKenzie, reporting in from Johannesburg.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is certainly a significant moment and possibly a turning point.

This expansion of BRICS was surprising to some. It was thought they could potentially go through a methodical process of inviting countries one by one.

But in the end, it was six countries added -- something for every one of the founding BRICS members, I think. And in particular, the addition of the UAE and Saudi Arabia is important to potentially bring their financial might to the new development bank, the so-called BRICS Bank, to counteract the World Bank and IMF.

And that has been a theme throughout this BRICS summit, counteracting Western influence and, in particular, this is a win for Chinese President Xi Jinping.

XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): This expansion is historic. It shows the BRICS' determination to unite and cooperate with developing countries which meets the international community's expectation.

MCKENZIE: Now, to underline the importance of the BRICS meeting and its outcome, the secretary-general of the U.N. was in attendance. He had this to say about the world's financial system.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: For multilateral institutions to remain truly universal, they must reform to reflect today's powers and economic realities and not the power and economic realities of the post Second World War. In the absence of such reform, fragmentation is inevitable.

MCKENZIE: Now, this loose connection of countries will have to work together to have any kind of political clout. And certainly, economically, the talk of de-dollarization in particular by President Putin of Russia, is in the short term, probably very optimistic.

But there is a sense that they could, if they band together, have an impact on the political stage.

One small wrinkle potentially to mention, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister spoke to regional press, saying, they're going to look into this invite and come up with a decision at an appropriate time.

According to South Africa's president, all of these members will join in January 2024.

David McKenzie, CNN -- Johannesburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit on, the leaders of India and China agreed to try and escalate their efforts to remove tensions over their disputed shared border.

China's foreign ministry says Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chinese President Xi Jinping had a candid and in-depth exchange on the current China-India relations.

The shared border has been a source of tensions for years. Both countries accusing the other of overstepping the line of actual control while trying to expand their own territory. Officials in Zimbabwe have begun counting votes in the hotly-contested

presidential and parliamentary election. Voting has been extended for the second day in the capital Harare and two other provinces because of long delays blamed on a shortage of paper ballots.

Despite the wait, some voters are determined to have their votes count.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE MURERWA, ZIMBABWE VOTER (through translator): I came in the morning at 7:00 a.m. and I'm still here. I have been drinking water since morning. And some were collapsing because of hunger. I still don't understand what has happened here at all. It's my second time voting and I have never seen such a thing.

BEAUTY TEMBENI, ZIMBABWE VOTER: We are seeing the papers have not arrived. And now they just gave us an update that the papers have arrived. But we didn't see any papers coming through. So now we are confused.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Observers say the election has been largely peaceful. The current president is seeking a second term. He'll need more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.

After the break we will have the very latest from Greece where firefighters continue to battle unprecedented wildfires which seem to be only getting worse.

[01:44:48]

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VAUSE: No end in sight it seems for the fire emergency in Greece. Authorities say many parts of the country now facing a large resurgence of wild fire.

Strong, winds fueled fires north of Athens early Thursday morning. Right now more than 250 firefighters have been deployed to the fire lines. Residents in at least three areas have been asked to evacuate.

CNN correspondent Eleni Giokos has the very latest reporting in from Greece.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what is left of one of the most beautiful hiking trails in all of Grace. I'm in Parnitha Mountain in Athens. It's known as the lungs of Athens. It's an important carbon basin for the city.

I want to show you why it's called the lungs of Athens. If you look out, you can see the thick black smoke towering over the city but you also see a very densely populated area. Not enough greenery and this virgin forest was that one reprieve.

Fires broke here on Tuesday. It's affected homes, many homes were burnt yesterday. The fire department are not giving us an exact number. They're still trying to assess the damage.

We also don't know how much of this forest has actually been burned. What we do know today is that the firefighters tell us that overnight, it was a nightmare experience with many new blazes erupting across the mountain and, of course, with no air assistance that makes it all that much more difficult to put out the flames.

This morning, many helicopters and planes are towering above us. One of the helicopters can carry around 11 tons of water, and working rapidly to try and put out the fire.

You could see the wind has subsided somewhat. But the fear is that once it starts again that that would reignite some of the flames that are starting to just simmer at this stage.

Now, looking ahead, locals tell us they're very worried about potential flooding during rainy season and landslides.

That will be something that will come in the future, but for now this fire season for the whole of Greece has been absolutely catastrophic. We have seen hundreds of new fires erupting across the country in the last few days.

Eleni Giokos -- Athens, Greece for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: One year after catastrophic flooding in Pakistan and there's still a massive need for humanitarian assistance. Hundreds were killed, millions of homes destroyed, entire farms wiped away. At one point, nearly a third of the country was underwater and one year later, UNICEF warns that millions still do not have access to essential services.

According to the U.N. some 8 million people are still without safe drinking water. Over 1.5 million children are in need of nutrition.

The flood damage destroyed vital infrastructure including 30,000 schools, 2,000 health facilities and 4,300 water systems.

[01:49:57]

VAUSE: UNICEF is calling on the Pakistani government and others to increase investment in basic services for children and for the families.

Japan says it's strongly requesting China reverse a ban on all imports of Japanese seafood. China made the move Thursday after Japan began releasing treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Beijing says it wants to protect the health of Chinese consumers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANG WENBIN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION, CHINESE FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY (through translator): The disposal of the Fukushima nuclear- contaminated water is a major issue of nuclear safety. Its impact goes beyond Japan's borders and the issue is by no means a private matter for Japan.

The ocean belongs to all humanity. To forcibly start an ocean discharge is an extremely selfish and irresponsible act and disregard of the global public interest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The Fukushima plant was damaged during a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Japan says it urgently needs to start disposing of the water currently stored at the facility and says that the (INAUDIBLE) water though meets international safety standards.

Still to come, meet the stars of a new musical group, who are K-Pop but no K. What do the Koreans think about this? We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Well, thousands took to the streets of Buenos Aires on Thursday as Argentinians grappled with an inflation rate of more than 110 percent.

The protests come just months before a general election. Demonstrators are demanding more social programs, such as soup kitchens to help deal with the rising cost of living.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDUARDO BELLIBONI, LEADOR, POLO OBRERO (through translator): It is a claim that we have been making about the grave social situation that is occurring in Argentina as a result of the inflationary process, the deterioration of salaries.

Many go to soup kitchens, even though they have jobs. The social situation is worsening and is being aggravated by the latest events.

VAUSE: Over the past week, Argentina has been hit by a wave of looting. JPMorgan believes inflation could hit almost 200 percent by the end of the year.

The football's world governing body has opened disciplinary proceedings against the president of the Spanish Football Federation. This comes after a video shows he forcibly kissed a player on the lips following Spain's World Cup victory.

FIFA says it was a violation of rules which deal with extensive (ph) behavior. Spain's Women's Soccer League has also filed an official complaint with the Spanish High Council of Sport.

The official in question has since apologized saying that it was fake.

There's a new K-Pop performing in South Korea but there's a twist. None of the members are actually Korean.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has the story reporting in from Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Water bomb 2023. A K-Pop concert in the heart of Seoul where staying dry is not an option.

And the gig for Blackswan, a K-Pop band with no Korean members. They're not the first to try it, but Blackswan are hoping they will be the act to break through.

The obvious question, you are a K-Pop group but there is no K, there is no Korean. Does it matter?

FATOU, MEMBER, BLACKSWAN: Actually, there is K because we sing in Korean. And K-Pop is Korean pop. So as long as the language is there it is still K-Pop.

[01:54:57]

HANCOCKS: Singing in Korean, Blackswan members say they also draw on influences from each of their cultures. Their recent song "Karma" was filmed in India where band member Sriya is from. The music video and (INAUDIBLE) has been viewed over 5 million times on YouTube.

SRIYA, BLACKSWAN MEMBER: It has been really, really great because it is the first ever MV to be shoot in India and it is also shows proper Indian culture, Indian dresses, outfits, and then the dance.

HANCOCKS: Blackswan members are also from Brazil, Senegal, and the United States. A global band for a global movement, the band says.

FATOU: If they see us, we are all different colors, different backgrounds, cultures, and if they see us achieve it, it is going to put more fire behind them.

HANCOCKS: One difference, the members did not start as young teenagers undergoing brutal K-Pop training as other young hopefuls do. Two members only signed up two years ago.

YOON DEUNG-RYONG, CEO OF DR MANAGEMENT (through translator): There are usually 4 to 5 years of training period, as they need to learn the language, dance moves, singing. Even they are being trained within the K-Pop system, we need to respect the cultures of these members and we can't just tell them what to do.

HANCOCKS: The group says training was still tough, but what about the Korean public reaction to this different brand of K-Pop?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are other famous bands such as a Twice and Ize-ones (ph) who are considered a K-Pop band, even though they have foreign members from Japan and elsewhere.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is more like a mind set for me that K-Pop is not just because you are Korean and making music in South Korea. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As there are no Koreans in the group, I've always

looked at the group with doubts about the name K-Pop, although they technically are.

HANCOCKS: A member of non Korean K-Pop groups have emerged over recent years.

LEE GYU-TAG, CULTURAL STUDIES, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY, KOREA: I believe there may be a possibility to have, let's say, American K-Pop, British K-Pop, or Japanese K-Pop, why not? But it may also make K-Pop lose their specially identity as a K-Pop.

GROUP: Be unique. Hello, this is Blackswan.

HANCOCKS: Paula Hancocks, CNN -- Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, SpaceX is being sued by U.S. authorities for allegedly discriminating in its hiring practices. According to the suit, the company falsely claimed Elon Musk's company pledged a fourth job position -- legally saying they were prevented from hiring asylum seekers or refugees. The DOJ says that is not true. And only candidates with green cards and U.S. citizenship were considered for employment.

Well, there are some specific laws which, limit foreign nationals from accessing key information about space vehicles the DOJ says that does not prevent SpaceX from hiring refugees. SpaceX has not commented so far on the lawsuit.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm John Vause.

Please stay with us. Kim Brunhuber is right there ready to go after a very short break.

I will see you right back here next week. Have a great weekend.

[01:57:51]

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